Method of cutting meat to form steak cuts and meat products formed by the method

ABSTRACT

A method of cutting a piece of meat which is initially generally in the shape of a parallelepiped to produce at least one steak portion includes cutting the meat along four generally curved first cut lines extending generally parallel to the grain of the meat to remove four corners of the meat and create a meat portion which is cylindrically shaped. The cylindrically shaped meat portion is cut along each of a plurality of parallel second cut lines each generally perpendicular to the grain of the meat and spaced from each other by a first predetermined distance to create a plurality of disk-like generally cylindrical meat portions each having a thickness corresponding to the first predetermined distance and each having a diameter corresponding to the diameter of the cylindrically shaped meat portion. At least one of the disk-like meat portions is cut along each of a plurality of third cut lines, each of the third cut lines extending radially inwardly from an outer circumferential edge of the disk-like meat portion toward but not entirely through the axial center of the disk-like meat portion to create an uncut center portion, the third cut lines being circumferentially spaced apart by a second predetermined distance to produce a steak portion having a plurality of generally truncated pie wedge shaped portions held together by the center portion.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefits of U.S. Provisional PatentApplications No. 60/540,145 filed Jan. 29, 2004 and No. 60/568,114 filedMay 4, 2004, both entitled “Method of Cutting Meat to Form Steak Wedgesand Meat Product Formed by the Method”, the subject matter of which ishereby incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a method for cutting a pieceof meat in a manner which results in steak cuts and the steak cutsresulting from employing the disclosed method.

The present invention, while described below in terms of a particularcut of beef, has equal applicability to other forms of meat includingpork, lamb, veal and also birds such as chicken, turkey, duck, etc.,particularly the breast cut. The present invention is adapted to addsignificant value to meat by taking what would ordinarily be arelatively tough, lower value cut of meat and turning it into a highervalue cut of meat which is tenderer and is particularly well suited togrilling, pan frying or the like. A cut of meat prepared in accordancewith the method of the present invention is generally disk-like,cylindrical and has a thickness which may vary depending upon thedesires of the consumer. In the presently preferred embodiment, the cutof meat comprises a cylinder having a diameter preferably in the rangeof 3 to 6 inches and having a thickness preferably in the range of about⅛ inch to about 2½ inches. The cylindrical cut of meat includesgenerally radially extending cuts made through at least a portionthereof to establish a steak cut including a plurality of generallytruncated pie-wedge shaped portions held together at the center whichcan be conveniently separated after cooking for consumption or forfurther cutting, if desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Briefly stated, the present invention comprises a method of cutting apiece of meat which is initially generally in the shape of aparallelepiped to produce at least one steak portion. The methodincludes the steps of: cutting the meat along four generally curvedfirst cut lines extending generally parallel to the grain of the meat toremove four corners of the meat and to thereby create a meat portionwhich is generally cylindrically shaped and elongated; cutting thegenerally cylindrically shaped meat portion along each of a plurality ofgenerally parallel second cut lines, each of the second cut lines beinggenerally perpendicular to the grain of the meat and being spaced fromeach other by a first predetermined distance to create a plurality ofdisk-like cylindrical meat portions each having a predeterminedthickness corresponding to the first predetermined distance and eachhaving a predetermined diameter corresponding to the diameter of thecylindrically shaped meat portion; and cutting at least one of thedisk-like meat portions along each of a plurality of third cut lines,each of the third cut lines extending generally radially inwardly from acurved outer circumferential edge of the at least one disk-like meatportion toward but not entirely through the axial center of the at leastone disk-like meat portion to create an uncut center portion, the thirdcut lines being circumferentially spaced apart by a second predetermineddistance to produce a steak portion having a plurality of generallytruncated pie wedge shaped portions held together by the center portion.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing summary as well as the following detailed description ofthe invention will be better understood when read in conjunction withthe appended drawings. For the purpose of illustrating the invention,there are shown in the drawings embodiments which are presentlypreferred. It should be understood, however, that the invention is notlimited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a typical top round of beef which willbe used for illustrating the method of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an end view of the top round of beef shown in FIG. 1 annotatedwith a plurality of generally curved first cut lines in accordance witha preferred embodiment of the method of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the top round of beef shown in FIG. 1after cuts have been made along the first cut lines shown in FIG. 2 andannotated with second cut lines in accordance with a preferredembodiment of the present method;

FIG. 4 is a top perspective view of a generally disk-like cylindricalportion of beef formed by cutting the top round of beef shown in FIG. 3along the second cut lines; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the generally disk-like cylindricalportion of beef shown in FIG. 4 which has been cut along a plurality ofgenerally radially extending third cut lines.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention comprises a method of cutting meat, such as aprimal cut of meat, in a manner so that the resulting steak cut can begrilled, pan fried or otherwise quickly cooked. More particularly, andas illustrated in FIG. 5, the meat cut which results from employing themethod of the present invention results in a generally disk-likecylindrical steak portion 10 c which is generally sized for consumptionby one or two persons and in which the meat has been pre-cut intogenerally truncated pie-wedge shaped pieces 10 d which are either bitesized or near bite sized to facilitate convenient, quick cooking andconsumption. In the present embodiment, the steak cut 10 c made inaccordance with the present invention comes from a large piece of meatwhich contains primarily muscle with little or no fat. A top round ofbeef 10 is used to illustrate the present method. It should be clearlyunderstood that the present method is equally applicable to other cutsof beef, particularly primal cuts, such as a bottom round, clod heart,sirloin tip, etc. or to other or similar primal or high muscle contentcuts of meat from other animals such as pork, lamb, veal, etc. Further,the present invention is applicable with respect to high muscle contentbird meat, particularly a breast of chicken, duck, turkey, etc.Typically, a top round of beef 10 and other such primal cuts whichcontain mostly muscle and little fat are usually tough and, therefore,are typically prepared for consumption in limited ways, including slowcooking, braising, or the like. The present invention permits meat fromsuch high muscle, low fat cuts, such as a top round of beef 10, to beprepared in a manner in which the resulting meat product is much moresuitable for cooking in other, quicker manners, typically grilling, panfrying, or the like.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a typical top round of beef 10 which asdiscussed above is utilized only for illustrating the method of thepresent invention. It should be clearly understood that the method ofthe present invention is equally applicable to any other primal cut ofbeef such as a bottom round, or, as mentioned above, a muscle of anyother animal. As shown in FIG. 1, the top round of beef 10, which isgenerally in the shape of a parallelepiped, has a height H, a width Wand a length or thickness extending with the grain of the meat,illustrated by grain lines 12, from end to end.

FIG. 2 is an end view of the beef round 10 of FIG. 1 with the additionof several generally curved first cut lines 14. The first cut lines 14extend across the height H and width W of the beef round 10 and alongthe length or thickness essentially with or parallel to the grain of themeat as illustrated by grain lines 12. The first cut lines 14 arepreferably at least slightly curved and extend generally parallel to thegrain lines 12 proximate to the four corners 10 a of the top round 10.The first step involved in the present invention is to cut the top roundof beef 10 with the grain of the meat along each of the four first cutlines 14 from one end to the other end thereby resulting in the removalof each of the four corners 10 a of the beef round 10 to create a topround portion 10 b which is generally round or oblong in cross sectionor end view and is generally elongated and cylindrically shaped as shownin FIG. 3. The nominal diameter of the cylindrically shaped top roundportion 10 b generally corresponds to the initial height H of the topround of beef 10 shown in FIG. 1. Typically, the height H of a top roundof beef is in the range of about 3 inches to about 6 inches so that thediameter of the cylindrical top round portion 10 b would also preferablybe in the range of 3 to 6 inches. The location and curvature of thefirst cut lines 14 may be adjusted to provide the generally cylindricalshape to the top round portion 10 b. It will be apparent to those ofordinary skill in the art that the dimensions of the top round 10 willvary from animal to animal and that the diameter of the cylindrical topround portion 10 b will also vary from animal to animal. Further, theoverall length or thickness (distance from end to end) of the top roundportion 10 b will vary from animal to animal.

In the preferred embodiment of the present method, the next step is tosubject the cylindrical top round portion 10 b to a tenderizing process,such as needle tenderizing, in a manner well known to those of ordinaryskill in the art. Alternatively, the tenderizing step could be appliedto the entire top round 10 before the first cutting step or after one ormore of the below-described steps of the present method. Needletenderizing is a technique well known to those of ordinary skill in theart and is utilized to tenderize a tougher cut of meat. If desired,other forms of tenderizing could alternatively be employed.

In forming the cylindrical top round portion 10 b, the beef round 10 iscut along each of the first cut lines 14 shown in FIG. 2 to remove thecorner portions 10 a utilizing a standard butcher knife (not shown),meat saw (not shown), water knife (not shown) or any other cuttingdevice or apparatus well known to those of ordinary skill in the meatart. Such devices and apparatus may also be employed in performing thebelow-described cutting steps. It will be appreciated by those ofordinary skill in the art that the present invention is not limited to aparticular device or apparatus used for making the cuts through the meatas described above and/or as described below.

Referring to FIG. 3, in a first preferred embodiment, the next step ofthe present method involves cutting the generally cylindrical beef roundportion 10 b along each of a plurality of generally parallel spacedapart second cut lines 16, only two of which are illustrated in FIG. 3.Preferably, the distance from the first end of the cylindrical top roundportion 10 b to the first of the second cut lines 16 as well as thedistance T between the second cut lines 16 is a first predetermineddistance, preferably in the range of about ⅛ inch to about 2½ inchesdepending upon the desired thickness of the final steak products. Itwill be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that the firstpredetermined distance or thickness T could vary if desired. As shown inFIG. 3, each of the second cut lines 16 is generally across orperpendicular to the grain of the cylindrical top round portion 10 b asillustrated by grain lines 12.

FIG. 4 illustrates a single generally disk-like, cylindrical top roundsteak portion 10 c which is one of a plurality of disk-like cylindricalportions 10 c which results from making the cuts along the second cutlines 16 through the cylindrical top round portion 10 b across the grainof the meat as shown in FIG. 3. The resulting top round steak portion 10c is generally disk-like and cylindrical with a diameter D generallycorresponding to the height H of the original top round cut 10 and witha thickness T which will vary depending upon the taste of the consumerbut preferably will be in the range of between 1/8 inch and 2½ inches.Depending upon the diameter D and the thickness T, the resultinggenerally disk-like top round steak portion 10 c is suitable forconsumption by one or two persons. It should be understood that aplurality of such disk-like steak portions 10 c may be created from asingle cylindrical beef round portion 10 b and that the thickness T maybe varied if desired. If the tenderizing step has not previously beenapplied, the generally disk-like top round steak portion 10 c may besubjected to the tenderizing step as described above. If desired, thedisk-like steak portion 10 c may be cooked and consumed without beingfurther cut as described below.

The final step of the first embodiment of the present method is to cutthe disk-like top round steak portion 10 c along each of a plurality ofgenerally radially extending third cut lines 18 which arecircumferentially spaced from each other by a second predetermineddistance as shown in FIG. 5. Note that the radially extending cut lines18 extend inwardly from the peripheral or outer circumferential edge ofthe generally cylindrical top round steak portion 10 c toward but notentirely through the axial center C. Instead, each of the cut lines 18falls short of the axial center C by a third predetermined distancewhich, in the present embodiment is approximately about 1/8 inch toabout 1 inch to establish an uncut center portion 20. As best shown inFIG. 5, the third cuts extend completely through the generally disk-liketop round steak portion 10 c from top to bottom to establish a pluralityof meat pieces or portions 10 d which are each generally in the shape ofa truncated pie wedge. The radial dimension of each pie wedge-shapedpiece 10 d depends upon the number of third cut lines 18 which areemployed and the spacing between the third cut lines 18. In theembodiment illustrated in FIG. 5, sixteen generally equallycircumferentially spaced third cut lines 18 which are each spaced apartby about twenty two and one half degrees, are present to establishsixteen generally wedge-shaped pieces 10 d. However, it will be apparentto those of ordinary skill in the art that a lesser or greater number ofthird cuts could alternatively be made and that the third cuts need notbe equally spaced apart. The number and spacing of the third cut lines18 is preferably established so that the pie wedge shaped pieces 10 dare very thin, for example about 1/8 inch thick where each wedge shapedpiece 10 d joins the uncut center portion 20. As can be seen from FIG.5, the uncut center portion 20 maintains the various truncated piewedge-shaped pieces 10 d together as an integral generally disk-likesteak portion 10 c at least during the cooking process.

The third cuts made through the generally disk-like cylindrical topround steak portion 10 c may be made utilizing any known technique. Ifdesired, a special tool may be formed which makes all of the third cutsin a single step. A related tool is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.5,771,771, entitled “Apparatus for Cutting a Sausage Product” and U.S.Pat. No. 6,248,013, entitled “Apparatus for Processing Meat,” thesubject matter of each of which are hereby incorporated herein byreference. Other tools will be apparent to those of ordinary skill inthe art. Alternatively, each such third cut may be made utilizingstandard cutting tools or apparatus such as a knife, water knife, saw,etc. It should be clearly understood that the present method is notlimited to a particular device or apparatus employed for making thethird cuts.

A second preferred embodiment of the present invention involves changingthe order in which the above-described method steps are employed. In thesecond preferred embodiment, once the generally cylindrical top roundportion 10 b of FIG. 3 has been established, the cylindrical top roundportion 10 b is cut along the third cut lines 18 as shown in FIG. 5. Theneedle tenderizing step may be applied before or after the third cutsare made. Once the third cuts are made from end to end of the elongatedcylindrical top round portion 10 b, a set of second cuts are made alongcut lines 16 to establish the disk-like generally cylindrical steakportions 10 c as shown in FIG. 5.

As mentioned above, the resulting steak portion 10 c as shown in FIG. 5is suitable for grilling, pan frying, or may be prepared in some othermanner. If the steak portion 10 c is to be grilled, it is preferablygrilled in a manner similar to that of a sirloin steak by first grillingit on one side for a desired time period and then turning it over andgrilling it on the other side for a desired time period. Once the topround steak portion 10 c is turned over for grilling on the second side,a pat of butter or spoonful of a sauce, such as barbeque sauce may beapplied to the uncut center portion 20. As the grilling of the secondside continues, the butter or sauce melts and flows radially outwardlyand into the third cuts to further tenderize and add flavor to the meat.

Once the top round steak portion 10 c has been completely cooked to thedesired amount of doneness, the top round steak portion 10 c is removedfrom the grill for consumption. Consumption involves cutting through theuncut center portion 20 to establish a plurality of individual generallywedge-shaped steak pieces 10 d. Depending upon the diameter D and thethickness T of the top round portion 10 c, the wedge-shaped pieces 10 dmay be bite sized or may be cut into two or more smaller pieces forconsumption. Again, depending upon the diameter D and thickness T eachtop round steak portion 10 c may be sufficient for a single serving ormay provide two or more servings. If desired, the top round steakportion 10 c may be marinated prior to cooking or may be subjected toother preparation techniques such as dry rubbing, etc. As analternative, the steak portion 10 c may be placed on a bun or roll tomake a steak sandwich.

From the foregoing, it can be seen that the present invention comprisesa method of cutting a lower value, high muscle piece of meat toestablish a unique, high value steak cut which is suitable for grillingor other quick cooking techniques. It will be appreciated by thoseskilled in the art that changes could be made to the embodimentsdescribed above without departing from the broad inventive conceptthereof. It is understood, therefore, that this invention is not limitedto the particular embodiments disclosed, but it intended to cover allmodifications within the sprit and scope of the present invention.

1. A method of cutting a piece of meat which is initially generally inthe shape of a parallelepiped to produce at least one steak portion, themethod comprising the steps of: cutting the meat along four generallycurved first cut lines extending generally parallel to the grain of themeat to remove four corners of meat and to thereby create a meat portionwhich is generally cylindrically shaped and elongated; cutting thegenerally cylindrically shaped meat portion along each of a plurality ofgenerally parallel second cut lines, each of the second cut lines beinggenerally perpendicular to the grain of the meat and being spaced fromeach other by a first predetermined distance to create a plurality ofdisk-like cylindrical meat portions each having a predeterminedthickness corresponding to the first predetermined distance and eachhaving a predetermined diameter corresponding to the diameter of thecylindrically shaped meat portion; and cutting at least one of thedisk-like meat portions along each of a plurality of third cut lines,each of the third cut lines extending generally radially inwardly from acurved outer circumferential edge of the at least one disk-like meatportion toward but not entirely through the axial center of the at leastone disk-like meat portion to create an uncut center portion, the thirdcut lines being circumferentially spaced apart by a second predetermineddistance to produce a steak portion having a plurality of generallytruncated pie wedge shaped portions held together by the center portion.2. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the first predetermineddistance is in the range of 1/8 inch to 2½ inches.
 3. The method asrecited in claim 1 wherein all of the second cut lines are spaced apartby the same first predetermined distance.
 4. The method as recited inclaim 1 wherein the third cut lines are spaced apart by the same secondpredetermined distance.
 5. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein thesecond predetermined distance is about 22½ degrees.
 6. The method asrecited in claim 1 further including the step of tenderizing the meat.7. The method as recited in claim 6 wherein the tenderizing stepcomprises needle tenderizing.
 8. The method as recited in claim 1wherein the uncut center portion has a diameter in the range of about ¼to one inch.
 9. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the piece ofmeat is a primal cut of meat.
 10. The method as recited in claim 9wherein the primal cut of meat is one of a top round, a bottom round, aclod heart, a sirloin tip and another high muscle content cut.
 11. Themethod as recited in claim 9 wherein the meat is one of beef, pork, vealand bird.
 12. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the piece of meatis a top round of beef.
 13. A steak portion made in accordance with themethod as recited in claim 1.